Is Jesus Presently King or Only the Coming King

In many Christian settings, especially around certain seasons, the phrase “Jesus is king” is used frequently. Often it functions as a general declaration of allegiance or affection for Christ rather than as a carefully defined doctrinal statement. Your question is whether the specific texts in 1 Timothy 1:17 and 1 Timothy 6:13–16 truly support the assertion that Jesus is presently reigning as King over the church, or whether they refer instead to God the Father.

I share your instinct that these verses are about the Father, and that they do not prove that Jesus is now enthroned as king in His messianic, Davidic sense. This has implications for how we speak about Christ’s kingship in the present age.

subsection*The Common Slogan “Jesus Is King”

Before examining the texts, it helps to recognize how the slogan functions in different circles:

• Among many evangelicals, especially younger believers, “Jesus is king” is often a non-technical way of saying, “I love Jesus,” or “Jesus is supreme in my life.” It is more a statement of devotion than of dispensational or eschatological precision.
• Among covenant theologians and Reformed thinkers (including the formerly so-called “young, restless, and Reformed”), “Jesus is king” usually means that Christ is now reigning on David’s throne, the kingdom promises are spiritually fulfilled in the church, and there is no future earthly, ethnic kingdom for Israel.
• Among certain Christian nationalist or theocratic movements, “Jesus is king” may carry the idea that earthly governments should institutionally submit to Christ and that a form of theocracy should be pursued now.

Because the same phrase carries different theological freight in different groups, it is important to ask, “What do you mean by ‘king’ and what kingdom are you talking about?”

My own position is that Jesus is the coming King, the messianic King, the heir to David’s throne, but that He has not yet taken that throne or begun His earthly kingdom rule. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, but the actual Davidic kingdom is future, physical, and centered in Israel. Saying “Jesus is king” without this distinction tends to blur crucial biblical teaching about the kingdom and Israel.

subsection*1 Timothy 1:17 – The King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible

1 Timothy 1:17 reads:

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.’’

The description here includes:

• King eternal
• Immortal
• Invisible
• The only wise God

This doxology is most naturally directed to God the Father. The emphasis on invisibility is particularly significant. The Son became visible—He took on flesh, walked among men, was seen, touched, and handled. Even now, in His resurrected and glorified humanity, He is not “invisible” in the same sense.

Though Jesus shares in deity, the language “invisible” and “the only wise God” matches the Father most straightforwardly. Paul is celebrating the sovereignty and kingship of God in the broadest, ultimate sense, not making a technical claim about Christ’s present Davidic enthronement or His relationship to the church as King.

Thus, when someone quotes 1 Timothy 1:17 to insist, “See—Jesus is now our king,” the text itself does not support that conclusion. It is a general ascription of kingship and glory to God, most directly the Father, rather than a statement that the messianic kingdom has begun.

subsection* 1 Timothy 6:13–16 – The Blessed and Only Potentate

Your second passage, 1 Timothy 6:13–16 , is more complex because it mentions God, Christ Jesus, and “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Let us look carefully.

Paul writes:

"I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.’’

Key points:

Timothy is charged “in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things,” and “before Christ Jesus” who testified before Pontius Pilate. He is to keep the commandment “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That appearing is clearly future. “Which in his times he shall shew” points to a future unveiling or revelation of Christ. This correlates well with Revelation 1:1 , “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants...”

The crucial question is: who is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” in this verse, and who is the one “who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see”?

If these descriptions refer to Christ, we encounter a difficulty. Many have seen Christ, and many will see Him. Paul himself says that over 500 brethren saw the risen Lord at once, and that he himself saw Him 1 Corinthians 15:5–8 . So how can Paul say of this person, “whom no man hath seen, nor can see”?

It makes better sense to understand verses 15–16 as referring to God the Father, who is the ultimate “blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords,” and who “dwells in the light which no man can approach unto,” whom no one has seen or can see in His unveiled essence. In this reading:

God the Father will, “in his times,” show (display) the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. The doxology that follows refers to the Father as the One possessing immortality and unapproachable light.

It is true that Christ is also called “King of kings, and Lord of lords” in Revelation, but that does not prevent the title from being ascribed to the Father in this doxological, ultimate sense. The focus here is not the specific, earthly, Davidic kingship of Christ over Israel and the nations but the absolute sovereignty of God.

Therefore, these verses in 1 Timothy primarily exalt the Father’s kingship and sovereignty and do not establish that Jesus is now functioning as King of the church in a kingdom sense.

subsection*Is Jesus King of the Church?

If by “King of the church” one means that Christ is the supreme head, the One to whom the church belongs and from whom it takes its orders, then Scripture clearly teaches that Christ is the Head of the body. However, the specific title “King of the church” is not a biblical expression, and importing kingdom language directly into church terminology can be misleading.

The New Testament consistently presents Christ as:

Head of the body, the church. Bridegroom of the bride. Lord and Savior.

It presents Him, in relation to Israel and the world, as the promised King who will sit on David’s throne and rule the nations with a rod of iron. That rule is future and earthly, connected with Israel’s restoration and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.

In the present age, Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the time when His enemies will be made His footstool. The Davidic kingdom itself—the promised, earthly reign—is not yet in operation. Christ is not presently ruling the nations with a rod of iron. The world does not manifest kingdom conditions. To insist that “Jesus is king” in the full kingdom sense now creates serious tension with observable reality.

It is biblically sound to say:

Jesus is the coming King. Jesus is the messianic King of Israel and will reign on David’s throne. Jesus will be King over the nations in the future kingdom.

It is not biblically accurate, in my view, to say that the messianic kingdom is now in operation, that Jesus is now reigning as King over a spiritualized Israel called “the church,” and that we are currently in some form of realized kingdom. That is where much of the “Jesus is king” rhetoric in covenant theology goes astray.

subsection*Implications for the Present Age

Your question: do these passages support the fact that Jesus is not king of the church? I would say they support at least two important points:

They show that some of the strongest “King” language in 1 Timothy is directed to God the Father, not to Christ in His present relationship to the church. They do not provide a basis for claiming that Christ is presently exercising His Davidic, kingdom rule over the church or the world.

Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth by right, but the specific manifestation of that authority as the Davidic King awaits His return and the establishment of the messianic kingdom. Until then, the church is His body, not His kingdom, and our primary biblical images are “body of Christ,” “bride of Christ,” and “new man,” not “kingdom of Christ” in the prophetic, Israel-centered sense.

Thus, the texts in 1 Timothy, read carefully, align with the view that Jesus is not now ruling as the messianic King over the church. They exalt the Father’s ultimate kingship and place Christ’s appearing and kingship in a future, eschatological framework.